 infobox country native_name gran march common_name gran march image_coat coat_granmarch gif image_map capital hookhill major_cities shiboleth provinces ten great baronies two marches eastern dim forest rushmoors resources foodstuffs cloth copper gems gems iii languages common keoish elven dwarven government_type feudal monarchy structured along military lines leader_title commandant leader_name petros citizen people of gran march population 236 800 demographics human human sof elf elf sylvan dwarf halfling gnome elf half-elf orc half-orc other demographic_numbers 187 100 18 900 11 800 7 100 4 700 2 400 2 400 2 400 religions heironeous st cuthbert pholtus fharlanghn zilchus oeridian agricultural gods phyton obad-hai alignment ln lg n platinum griffon gold lion electrum eagle silver white owl copper heron allies keoland sterich bissel ulek states enemies ket nonhumans in the crystalmists footnotes culture gran march is an exceptionally martial nation though at age fifteen all fit males are required to take on a tour of duty within the nation nation's army of at least seven years it is a testament to the national pride of the nation nation's young people that many continue after this required service while those that do not are generally members of local militias geography gran march occupies the fertile plains east of the expansive dim forest and west of the lortmil mountains bounded by the northernmost fork of the sheldomar river in the south a poorly defined open border marks the north where nobles often keep court in both bissel and gran march this territory also includes portions of dim forest and the rushmoors a haunted fen that has plagued the southern march for much of its long history the northern baronies enjoy a temperate dry climate not unlike that found in bissel the south however is a land of dark mists and frequent showers particularly near the forest and swamp military internationally renown mailed cavalry forms the core of gran march march's impressive army armed with lances crossbows and swords these riders are the bane of humanoids that would attempt a strike against the nation the knights of the watch and knights of dispatch offer support and welcome tactical expertise the total standing army includes more than eighteen thousand soldiers at least three times as many trained troops can be called up within a single week history gran march is one of keoland 's oldest holdings tracing its history back more than 900 years legend holds that after the defeat of vecna and the dissolution of his empire placed in the northern part of the sheldomar valley in come accounts the nascent keoland keolandish crown created an order of knights in the frontier region the knights of the march were ordered to bring law to the lang and to quell the warring of the native human#flan flan factions eventually the leader of the knighthood was named commandant of the gran march a title that carried with it control of the land between the rushmoors and the lortmils life in gran march was peaceful and safe as few dared oppose the powerful commandant when a percieved threat from within beset the nation the knights of the march sprung on it fiercely and decisively sometimes such reprisals came with little warning often against seemingly upstanding members of the lesser aristocracy the knights followed the secret teachings of their own inscrutable doctrine and they showed no interest in explaining their actions to commoners the early 300s cy brought the human#baklunish baklunish brazen horde to ket causing much consternation in the courts of the east and south in order to protect his holdings against this paynim threat tavish i king tavish i of keoland ordered the foundation of the knights of the watch built upon the basis of the knights of the march and commanded by its leaders this new international knighthood quickly spread to geoff bissel and the heart of the empire all the while retaining strong roots and key leadership in gran march indeed the commandant became titular ruler of the massive knighthood as well as leader of his nation with the dawning of keoland 's wars of aggression in 350 cy gran march gained international notoriety as the primary staging ground for the second expeditionary army which invaded veluna from the southwest after the success of that campaign the capital of hookhill became an important caravan stop to points north which served to increase the wealth of the province by 415 cy life in gran march had grown extraordinarily difficult thanks in part to berlikyn commandant berlikyn a harsh ruler who demanded nothing less than the most of his citizens &mdash; the most labor the most money the most effort the king in distant niole dra knew nothing of berlikyn 's tactics seeing only the impressive results in appreciation tavish ii appointed the commandant to be the supreme commander of all the northern provinces which at the time included gran march bissel and much of veluna a period of bitter oppression reigned in the north until berlikyn was slain in the small war the death of the commandant of the gran march and the loss of bissel and the veluna velunese territories to furyondy forced a change in keoland 's policy in the north aware that the local nobles would not tolerate a harsh commandant the king allowed them to elect one of their own number to the position and forever more split the title from that of the marcher lord titular head of the knights of the watch the government and knighthood however did and has remained closely allied for much of the modern era gran march has existed as a prosperous trade center along keoland 's northern merchant routes perhaps thanks to the influence of the knights of the watch the nobles of gran march have continued to enjoy strong relations with their neighbors in sterich and bissel 